


A Safe Haven

by Elendiliel



Series: Lightning Strikes [11]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic, Found Family, Gen, Planet Saleucami (Star Wars), Post-Order 66 (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29046219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elendiliel/pseuds/Elendiliel
Summary: Some weeks after Order 66, a bad choice of pilot and a subsequent crash-landing strand now-renegade Lightning Squadron near the middle of nowhere. As luck (or the Force) would have it, even so far from their old home, friends and allies can still be found.
Series: Lightning Strikes [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087898
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	A Safe Haven

**Author's Note:**

> Ever-so-slight possible canon-divergence warning: the ending of _Clone Wars_ and Rex's first appearance in _Rebels_ give different impressions, at least to me, of his subsequent career. I've gone with the former for the sake of one reference, but will happily accept correction.
> 
> I've also potentially taken some liberties with Jedi culture; Wookieepedia is a bit short of detail on the progression from youngling to padawan to knight in normal circumstances, and my imagination filled in the gaps.

“Right, that’s the _last_ time we hitch a lift from a Trandoshan.” Fives of Lightning Squadron, once ARC-5555 of the 501st Legion, hadn’t quite had all the wit knocked out of him by the crash landing he’d just endured, but it was a near thing.

“Oh, it could have been worse,” countered Hel, formally Helli Abbasa and formerly Fives’ commander. “At least we’re all breathing and nobody’s seriously hurt.”

“I didn’t realise your standards for a good landing were so low.” Spark, previously CT-1284, would probably never stop saying exactly what he thought, especially now that Hel was no longer his official superior. Hel had to admit that it hadn’t been her finest hour at the controls, but given the chunk of debris still jammed in the hull of their escape pod, she counted it as a win that they’d got down in one piece apiece.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Echo, the only one of the three clones who still had any use for his old number (CT-1409), had joined them after a quick recon of the pod’s status.

“Start with the bad news,” Fives, Echo’s oldest friend, replied before anyone else could.

“This pod isn’t going anywhere without some serious work. It’d be far easier, and cheaper, to find the nearest spaceport and hitch another lift. From someone trustworthy, this time.” All right, all right, no need to rub it in. Hel had known at the time that the Trandoshan who had offered them passage off Tatooine needed keeping an eye on, but there hadn’t been a lot of other options. An eye hadn’t been good enough. Somehow, the pilot had realised who and what they were and tried to sell them out. To a professional bounty hunter with a nasty temper. Things had got very complicated, very fast. The resultant battle had left the Trandoshan’s ship on the verge of explosion. He’d bailed out immediately, and they had done the same. Not fast enough to avoid being hit by a piece of the ship as it blew up. Hel and Echo had had their work cut out to turn a straight crash into a crash landing.

“And the good news?”, she asked, hoping it was actually and not just relatively good.

“The pod’s nav systems were still online when we hit the ground. It’s logged our position. Suolriep sector, Saleucami system, on the planet of the same name.”

Not the best news, but any location was better than none. “Saleucami? It was besieged towards the end of the war. I assume that’s no longer the case.” The Separatists were gone, their leaders massacred, their droids reprogrammed or used for spare parts. Such a waste. But in their place was the Empire, far worse than the Seps had ever been, by all accounts.

“You assume correctly. The Empire swept in unopposed after Ord-” He stopped himself before mentioning the slaughter of Hel’s brothers and sisters, a slaughter she had only escaped because of the men standing with her, and one so far away. “The last time I scanned the holonet, there was no sign of trouble anywhere near here.” Echo had spent some time being used as a living computer by the Techno Union, and it had left him with immensely increased memory capacity and the ability to interface with any computer system, as long as he could get physical access. Something good always came out of even the greatest evil.

“I’m not surprised,” commented Fives. “I remember Rex talking about this place. The people here never wanted the war to come to them, and you can’t blame them. But it did, all the same.” Fives had worked closely with ex-Commander Rex, second-in-command of the 501st, loyal friend and now a renegade like them.

Pretending she couldn’t hear Spark cursing the war, the Seps and the new Emperor, who had orchestrated the whole thing, Hel turned her attention to practical matters. “Did the nav computer tell you the nearest place we can find shelter? We appear to be in the temperate zone, and if I’m any judge, rain’s coming. Possibly a storm.”

“You’d know.” Spark, again. Their work had once taken them to Hel’s native planet, Alba, which was only marginally drier than Arkanis or Kamino.

“There’s a farm not too far away. Actually, a little closer and we’d have landed in their fields. Other than that, nothing for quite some distance. I don’t recommend the pod. The hull breach is too big, and I don’t like the look of the engines.”

“So, farm, risk the pod or brave the elements. Votes?” The farm was chosen, three votes to one. Hel would rather have taken her chances near the pod than impose on others, but Lightning Squadron was a democracy now. Echo, having memorised the pod’s most recent scans, led the way.

They reached the farmhouse just ahead of the rain. The door was opened by a Twi’lek woman with a justifiably annoyed expression. Helli turned her charm to maximum, but she was out of practice at persuasion without Torrent beside her or the option of compulsion if things went too badly wrong, and asking to shelter in an outbuilding took longer than it should have done. She was still negotiating when they were unexpectedly interrupted.

“You look like my daddy.” The voice was that of a small girl, and its owner was quick to appear, peering around her mother’s legs. Half Twi’lek, half-human, Helli guessed. And staring at Fives.

“Or that other man who was here before,” piped up a boy, a little younger, who had just followed his sister into the room. He gazed at Lightning Squadron for a few moments. “You _all_ do.”

“You’re clones?” The woman already knew the answer. She must have known the second she opened the door. And she didn’t like it much. No wonder Helli was having such a hard time talking to her.

“Let me handle this,” Fives murmured in Helli’s ear as he eased his way past her to speak to the woman, who was trying to send her children back inside, with some success. “You’re Suu Lawquane, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Helli sensed Suu’s suspicion melting away just a little. She hadn’t realised how good Fives was at this, even after so long together.

“Commander Rex told me about you and your family once. Don’t worry; he didn’t make it official. He respects your right to live as you choose, and so do we.”

“Commander? He got promotion?” The familiar voice from inside the building almost made Helli jump. The man who strode into the Lawquanes’ front room was the least soldier-like clone she had ever seen. He was recognisably genetically identical to her brothers, and retained some of his old military bearing, as well as the look in his eyes of someone who had seen more suffering than anyone should ever see, but he dressed and to some extent carried himself like a farmer. Suu’s husband, presumably.

“Yes, just before the siege of Mandalore. Not a moment too soon. I take it you’re Cut Lawquane?”

“That’s right. You’re friends of Rex, I assume. Are you deserters too?”

“You could say the Republic deserted _us_.” That, of course, came from Spark. Fives ignored him.

“We’d prefer “renegades”. We’re Lightning Squadron – well, most of it. I’m Fives, this is Hel, that’s Spark and he’s Echo.”

Cut focused on Helli, who was suddenly very aware of how much she stood out from her brothers. She was tall for a female, and had too much muscle to be truly thin, but among clones she looked tiny. And, of course, she was a woman, and a Pict. “You’re not a clone. Why are you-” Realisation hit fast, too fast. “You’re a Jedi.”

Hel tensed. So did her squad-mates. If Order 66 had reached here… But their fears were groundless. “Come on in. You’ll get soaked if you stand out there much longer.” He was right. They accepted his invitation gratefully and stepped inside, just as the first raindrops began to fall. By the sounds of it, he hadn’t been kidding about getting soaked.

“So, what brings three clones and a Jedi all the way out here?”, Cut asked as his guests found places to sit around the fireplace. Fives began to explain about the Trandoshan and the bounty hunter. Helli’s attention started to wander, until the boy’s voice focused it on him.

“Are you really a Jedi?”

Shooting a cautious glance at Cut, still listening to Fives, Helli answered, “Yes, I am.”

“Can I see your laser sword?” The girl had joined in.

“Shaeeah! Jek! Leave her alone!” Suu tried to intervene, but Helli didn’t mind being pestered. After weeks in hiding, it was good to be herself again. She fished out her sabre, which was stashed at the bottom of her (still too military) pack, and held it out. “There you go.”

“How does it work?” Helli had spent some time teaching younglings, back when she was a padawan (so, so long ago), and knew better than to argue with _that_ tone. Glancing again at Cut, she held the sabre upright and ignited the upper blade, just for a few moments. The children were suitably entranced.

Not for long, in the boy’s case. “How many droids have you killed with that?”

“ _Jek_!” Suu clearly wanted the subject _dropped, now_ , but the boy deserved an answer first. “Very few, actually. I was brought up to respect every person’s life, even droids. Of course some droids, like some organics, aren’t people, but I try not to damage even those ones if they’re not a danger to anybody.”

“How do you know the difference?”

“I just do. It’s part of being a Jedi. Their minds feel different, or aren’t there at all. It takes a bit of practice, though.”

Shaeeah had gone off at a tangent. “Have you fought Count Dooku? Or General Grievous?” Helli shot an it’s-fine look at Suu before she could interrupt again.

“Never met Dooku, thankfully. But I did fight Grievous, once.”

“And won,” Echo added. Helli tried to shrug off the achievement. “He couldn’t sense the Force; I can. That’s always an unfair advantage. Besides, you and Fives took down those six commando droids with him. I’m none too sure I’d have managed that by myself. Now, can we leave this topic, please?”

“I agree,” Cut put in. “And you don’t have to be so careful around me. We get the news, even here. I don’t believe the stories that are going around about the Jedi. I saw your people fight at Geonosis. Nobody who puts themself in harm’s way for others like that could be a traitor, as far as I’m concerned.” Helli let the last of her tension drain away. If Cut’s programming had been activated, she’d _know_ about it – or be incapable of knowing anything, ever again. “You’re safe here. And welcome to stay, all of you, for as long as you need. There isn’t really space in this house, but there’s room in the barn, and it’s warm and dry. Suu, can they join us for dinner?”

“That’s very kind of you, but we have our own supplies. I wouldn’t like to impose any more than necessary.” Helli could see that Suu still wasn’t entirely happy about all these uninvited guests, but she insisted that the family’s meal would stretch, and it seemed ungracious to refuse.

Conversation around the dinner table was confined to the Lawquanes’ life, carefully steering clear of the war and the Empire. Lightning Squadron retired not long after the children did, finding places to sleep where they wouldn’t disturb the eopies – or be disturbed by the friendly but curious beasts. They’d had far worse quarters, and far less congenial hosts.

Helli woke at dawn, as she usually did, and managed to find somewhere for her early-morning practice where her lightsabre wouldn’t be seen, or cause any damage. Stretches, drills and patterns complete, she fixed herself a light breakfast from her own supplies and went to find the others. Fives had volunteered all three of them to help out around the farm, not explicitly in payment for food and shelter, although that was a definite undercurrent. Hel would happily have joined them, but Suu commandeered her for various repairs and other indoor chores. Helli saw her point after a moment. The others could be passed off as Cut’s brothers, which in a sense was true, but Helli stood out rather. Few of her species lived permanently off-world, and Jedi tend to be hard to ignore. If anyone ever realised she was alive, the last thing she needed was any sort of trail left behind her.

“You should change your appearance,” Suu said as Helli jumped down from shoring up a dicey roof beam, landing with too-unmistakable skill. They had been discussing that very problem.

“I’ve been considering it. Got hold of some hair dye, coloured contact lenses and makeup back on Tatooine.” Good thing Mos Eisley still partly worked on the barter system. The team had little in the way of credits, but hard work and time were things they could easily give instead. Helli hadn’t yet stooped to cheating at cards, and prayed she never would. “But I haven’t had time or breathing space to figure out how to use them. Never got the hang of ordinary makeup, even. It’s not becoming for a padawan, and too much of a luxury for a soldier.”

“I think I can help you there.” Suu’s smile could only be called conspiratorial. “This is the last task for today. Get your things and meet me in the ‘fresher.” Helli scrambled to obey. Stars, she’d missed talking to another female. She loved her brothers, but there are always things women can’t discuss with men. Come to think of it, when had she last had a _normal_ conversation with a female? If ever?

They settled on a night-black dye and hazel lenses. Hazel wasn’t too far off Helli’s natural golden brown, but she was none too sure about the way her new hair bleached what little colour her skin ever had. Black had _never_ suited her.

“That will change in a moment.” Suu had been inspecting the makeup Helli had bought. “Close your eyes and hold still.”

Helli did so, and used the time to run through some meditation practices she’d neglected recently. When Suu’s voice finally broke through her trance state, she opened her eyes and barely recognised the person in the mirror.

Suu had done a fantastic job. For the first time in her life, Helli appeared to have an actual tan, not sunburn or a collection of freckles. Her face seemed rounder, the jawline and chin a bit less defined. Even the shapes of her eyes and mouth were different, the former appearing to tilt up at the outer corners rather than down, the latter a little less full and lighter in colour, though still wide and expressive. Only one thing hadn’t changed, bar her ears, which she’d quickly learned to cover.

“There was only so much I could do about your nose.” Suu sounded a trifle apologetic.

“It’s fine. I like having _something_ I can recognise.” The feature in question was the same tanned colour as the rest of her face, but still resembled a set square when seen in profile. Tears suddenly sprang to Helli’s eyes as she remembered Torrent saying once that it was adapted for scenting danger. _Will I see you again,_ nerra?

“What’s wrong?” Helli hadn’t quite suppressed the tears in time for Suu not to notice.

“Just – remembering something.” Suu’s gaze seemed to pull the truth out of people. “Something one of my team said once.”

“Someone you lost?” Suu was _good_ at this. Jedi-good, almost.

“In a sense. When – everything changed, he stayed in the army. Covering for us, and feeding us information we might need.”

“You’re in love with him.” It wasn’t a question.

“Maybe. I honestly don’t know. I’ve spent most of my life in the Jedi Temple, where romance is considered a distraction at best and dangerous at worst. In fact, all attachments are forbidden.”

“How old were you, when you entered the Temple?”

“About Shaeeah’s age. I think. Maybe younger. It’s all a bit blurred now.”

“That’s very young to be making such a commitment.”

“I didn’t make it. My parents did, and it can’t have been an easy decision. But the Temple is – was – the best place for a Force-sensitive child. Unless we’re properly trained, all sorts of things can happen, and few if any are good. Besides, that commitment was only binding until I was ready for apprenticeship, around twelve, when it was superseded by my padawan vows, and _those_ only lasted until I passed my final trials and gave my heart and soul to the galaxy, the Code, the Order and the Council. I knew what I was doing. But I don’t think anyone ever realises how hard it is to keep to the Code until the real test comes.”

Suu took Helli’s hand in both of hers and gave her a reassuring smile. “It seems you passed that test. You Jedi certainly don’t make life easy for yourselves.”

“That we don’t. But it’s more interesting this way.” Helli’s usual silly grin felt odd under the makeup, but not too much.

“It sounds as though the children are home from school, and the men are back in from the fields.” Helli had noticed that as well, but it hadn’t consciously registered until then. She’d been too lost in the past and the might-have-been. Not good, for a Jedi. “I’d better start getting dinner ready.”

“Would you like a hand? I’m not much good at domestic things, but I can learn.”

“Yes, please.” Suu led the way back downstairs. The men were, indeed, back home, still chatting happily to each other. Helli’s new appearance put a temporary stop to that.

“Hel? Is that you?” Echo sounded as though he could barely believe his eyes.

“Yes, still me. Suu’s a marvel with makeup.”

“So I see.” As Helli followed Suu into the kitchen, she heard the conversation start up again at a lower volume, in deference to the presence of Shaeeah and Jek, who had come home full of high spirits, judging by the crashing, banging and occasional calls of “Stop that!” or “Be careful!” from their father. Stepfather, Helli had learned earlier in the day, but it made no real difference.

Dinner was prepared quickly and efficiently, despite the inexperienced assistant. Helli knew how to use a knife, at least, and had learned _how_ to learn at an early age, which is more important than many people think. Shaeeah and Jek dominated the discourse at the table, full of everything they had done that day, although they assured everyone – and Helli believed them – that they hadn’t told anybody about their exciting new guests.

This time, said guests chose to stay up after the children had gone to bed. While Echo and Spark played dejarik and Suu showed Helli how to repair a torn seam (an exercise that left even the Jedi with several needle-holes in her finger), Fives and Cut continued talking, finally able to discuss more serious matters.

“So, what’s next for you four?”, Cut asked. “Find somewhere to settle down, away from the Empire?”

“We can’t. Not while there are people who need our help. If half the stories that get out this far are true, the Empire’s worse than the Separatists ever were, or will be before much longer. No, we’ll keep travelling. Do what we’ve always done: find out where we’re needed, help fix things up, make sure everything’s going to be OK, and move on. The only difference now is that we’re not taking orders from anyone else.”

“Well, that makes a kind of sense. It’s one way of keeping your oath, I suppose.”

“We swore to serve the Republic, but the Empire is not the Republic. We are, and everyone else like us. Until the Empire is gone, we _have_ to keep fighting. Be the soldiers or peacemakers they told us we were going to be, not the Emperor’s servants.”

“Good luck with that.” Cut sounded sincere. “I’ve heard a few things about your unit, even way out here. If there’s even a bit of truth in them, the galaxy could do with a lot more like you.”

“Thank you. If what Rex told me is true, the galaxy needs plenty of people like you, as well. If more of us had been brave enough to put down our arms, refuse to fight, we might be in less trouble now.”

“It’d be a funny old universe if we were all alike, wouldn’t it?” Helli accompanied her words with a teasing smile, but she felt the truth in them as she spoke. In that room were four men with the same genetic material, but so very different personalities. If she couldn’t see them, she wouldn’t know that they were all clones of the same person. Fives, passionate, brave, caring. Echo, smart, sensible, but ruthless when his duty called. Spark, fiery, outspoken, but dedicated to his brothers and sister underneath it all. And Cut, gentle, devoted, strong enough to make the choice none of the others could. To step away from the war and focus on what really mattered to him. His family. Helli understood that. She had left her first family behind long ago, and most of her second family was dead, the survivors scattered. But now she had a third family, one with whom she would stay and fight until their paths diverged – if they ever did. Nowhere to call home, in galographical terms, but maybe, if they were lucky, the occasional safe haven.


End file.
